Not the time to raise taxes

Not the time to raise taxes

EDITOR:

It is well documented that most government entities in the U.S. are experiencing financial difficulties. So are a growing number of individuals who are powerless to lawfully increase their income.

Now, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is contemplating the unthinkable, a personal income tax increase at the worst possible time in the economic cycle. And, like the spread of a deadly disease, state Rep. Robert Hagan is talking about increasing Ohio taxes when the state has one of the country’s highest rates of unemployment and job loss.

Gov. Rendell said on television that the greedy people on Wall Street caused Pennsylvania’s economic problems. It couldn’t have anything to do with excessive state spending, could it, governor? Politicians are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard spot.

The right thing to do is limit government activities to levels afforded by current income. The problem is that people think they need parks, recreation, libraries, fully staffed police, fire, and road departments and miscellaneous services at all times. If a brave politician told the people to endure until better times, he would join the unemployment line.

Like the temptation of a street corner hooker, raising taxes ultimately enters the mindset. It will only be this one time; it won’t be permanent, honestly.

LOREN KINDLER

Hubbard

Court OKs unearned bonuses

EDITOR:

On June 19, the bankruptcy judge approved in part the motion filed by Indalex for executive bonus incentives. These are the same executives whose leadership led to plant closings, the loss of many jobs and ultimately to bankruptcy. Of course we don’t know exactly what was approved and what was not approved because the motion is sealed. I’d want it to be sealed too, as I’d be ashamed to get a bonus incentive when there will be people who will lose their jobs due to the sale. I would also be ashamed to get a bonus incentive when others who have already lost their jobs and had severance agreements were cheated out of their money. A motion could have been filed to resume the severance payments, but management would not file the motion. But they jumped at the chance to file a motion that would benefit themselves. Maybe the judge would have denied the motion to resume severance payments but at least the decision would have rested with the judge. I really question why any judge would approve a motion for executive bonus incentive to anyone who led a company into bankruptcy.

Back in 1990-1991 the company, which at that time was Easco Aluminum, was in the midst of a bad recession and came very close to bankruptcy. The president and CEO at that time was a man of great integrity. He brought the company through an extremely hard time. No one had their pension frozen or took a pay cut; there were no fancy sales meetings or endless golf outings; and that man would have never taken a trip to Cabo or Napa Valley on the company dime during a financial crisis — or at any time. If he had been running the company during this recession, Indalex would not be in bankruptcy. He was a man who truly led by example. The leadership example of the Indalex management is that greed is good.

SHERRY ROSS

Boardman

Beware of what you dredge up

EDITOR:

The wheels of government turn very slowly, but of course members of Congress have a plethora of issues with which to contend.

I wrote to Rep. Tim Ryan on April 21 suggesting that some of the funds allocated for dredging the Mahoning River be diverted to restoring the abandoned and rundown Girard Lakes area as a recreational resource. (The lakes were formed by damming Squaw Creek, a tributary of the Mahoning, so perhaps such use would be a natural extension of the allocation’s intent.)

In a letter dated June 2, Rep. Ryan replied that since I am not a constituent of his, he could not act on my request because of “congressional courtesy,” and was therefore forwarding my letter to the appropriate party. This would be Rep. Charles Wilson.

I have not yet heard from Rep. Wilson, but (since he is not from the Mahoning Valley) I did follow up my original letter with one to him offering more detail on the Mahoning dredging project

I compared the Mahoning dredging with the Alaska’s infamous “bridge to nowhere” in terms of practicality.

I noted that the Mahoning is fouled by steel mill sludge that includes PAH (polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons) PCBs and heavy metals and that the proposed dredging of 30 miles of the river of this noxious material (which does not decompose) would be a Herculean task.

I could have noted that the removal of mud tainted with PCBs from the Upper Hudson River (now underway) involves drying it at a special facility nearby, and then hauling the residue a landfill in Texas by rail. It is feared that some of the tainted mud may well be left behind.

I did point out that despite a massive cleanup effort, dire effects linger still in Alaska’s Prince William Sound as result of the March, 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

My expressed fear was that dredging such a long stretch of the Mahoning would unfortunately leave much oily sludge behind, meaning that the river would still be contaminated and not suitable for fishing or swimming.

“Canoeing and other boating might be feasible, but would this be worth the $100 million cost of the dredging?” I asked. I did suggest that dredging the river over limited sections (such as through Youngstown) to make appealing venues might be feasible.

Although I could not foresee a dredged Mahoning River ever becoming much of a recreational resource, the opposite could be true for a restored Girard Lakes, given the area’s size, (over 600 acres) its proximity to Trumbull County cities and the county’s relative lack of sizable recreational areas.

We recently read that Ohio is now tied with Alabama as the “10th fattest state.” Does this not indicate a need for more good-sized sites for outdoor recreation for our increasingly sedentary population?

ROBERT R. STANGER

Boardman

Freedom came at a price

EDITOR:

Christmas and the Fourth of July have and always will be my favorite holidays to celebrate.

Asked why I favor the Fourth of July over Thanksgiving or Easter, my answer has been and will always be the same: “Blessed was I to be born free and pray that free I’ll always be.”

Had it not been for those amazing, courageous people from past years who were willing to fight and die to gain their independence from England, Americans today might not have had even the freedom to celebrate their own birthdays, let alone anything else.

Freedom must never be taken for granted or abused.

MARY LOU JURINA

Youngstown